Chapter 3:

26 Days

Lucy held a binder tight to her chest, standing just outside of her new classroom doors. Homeroom started in just a few minutes and Lucy made sure to use her time well.

She spent an hour getting ready in the morning, had a short panic attack in her limousine on the drive to school, and now she very casually looked in through the windows of room 777.

"Um… excuse me." A girl with long blue hair hesitantly waved a hand in front of Lucy's face. Lucy jumped, causing them both to tense up awkwardly.

"May Juvia get through?" The girl gestured to the door behind her.

Lucy blinked, confused. Before realizing that she was blocking the entrance to the dreaded room 777. The blond nodded, moving out of the way in the most graceful way imaginable.

Very casually.

The girl gave her one more weird look before rushing into the classroom.

Lucy sighed, dejectedly sliding down the wall. Right next to the door. The door leading into classroom 777.

Existing was much easier when everyone knew she existed. If only that stupid pink haired, pig headed, no good jerk had recognized her five days ago-!

"Lu…?"

"Levy!" Lucy sprung back up, holding onto her friend for dear life. "What do I do!? I made this decision spontaneously and you know how horribly 'Lucy's spontaneous ideas' end!"

Levy quickly shifted her books into her other arm as she smoothed her hand down her friends back comfortingly. "I-it's okay! You've always wanted to go to school! This was just that extra needed… push!"

Even Levy didn't sound too sure as she said that. But Lucy nodded her head nonetheless, taking in a couple of calming breaths as she did so.

"You're right, Levy! I made a promise and by the stars I will stick to it!"

Her eyes wandered as the sound of shuffling feet interrupted her sentence. Her eyes trailed, slowly, painfully aware that a fresh head of pink hair is what awaited her. His eyes were just as onyx as she remembered. She watched as his mouth curled up into a cute little 'oh' shape.

"It's you!" He said, shoving his finger in her face as Lucy continued to stare slack-jawed.

"Na…tsu."

The blond had imagined this very moment in her head since their last meeting. The scenario went by the name of 'Plan: Oh boy do I feel stupid now!'

She would have something smart to say that would leave him speechless. He'd get on his knees and apologize for acting so rude that fateful Saturday. Then he'd grab her hand… and bring it to his lips-

"I see you haven't gotten less weird..." Natsu squinted his eyes, carefully scooting her out of the way. "You're blocking the door, princess."

And with that he stepped into the classroom, their interaction already forgotten.

Lucy didn't move a muscle. Her face had frozen again, permanently stuck into that wide eyed, slack mouthed expression. Levy politely shut her friend's jaw, sighing as she pulled her into the classroom.

That moment had just confirmed her suspicions. There was absolutely no way these two could get along. They were complete opposites!

"Princess…" Lucy held her suddenly hot cheeks in her hands, allowing herself to be dragged towards a random seat at the front of the classroom. All of her worries about interacting with anyone had disappeared in an instant. The anxiety she's felt the entire morning melted into a gentle fluttering.

Natsu had called her princess… He was teasing her, obviously. Lucy knows this. But, it still felt good hearing him say that to her. About her .

Why the hell was her face so red!?

The time was third period. The setting was outside of classroom 226 this time… The subject was chemistry, and the name of the plan was 'Plan: blow Natsu away with her otherworldly intelligence.' He'd be begging to become her friend after he saw how perfectly she could remember chemical reactions. The periodic table was no match for Lucy Heartfilia's photographic memory!

"Lu… you don't have a photographic memory though." The loyal and trustworthy Levy was at Lucy's side, attempting to drill any rational thought through the girl's revenge clouded brain.

"I have to! How else would I be able to remember every single element on the table?" Lucy made sure to say that last bit a bit louder than usual. She shot Levy a wink, ignoring the other girl's confused squint.

Lucy glanced over to the table next to them, searching for Natsu's wide eyed blush covered face. But alas, the boy was in the middle of an intense insult battle with his rival, Gray Fullbuster. Again.

How on earth was she meant to stick to her promise if this judgmental jerk wouldn't even bother to look her way. All of her plans for interaction have failed because he was only in two of her classes! Not only that, but her lunch plan had been shoved down her throat along with the rest of that god-sent food.

Lucy had meant to talk to Natsu during lunch, honestly! But then Levy had dragged her into the lunch line and introduced her to some of her friends and they all got to talking and eating and- there had to be some type of drugs in that food to make it taste as heavenly as it did…

"Oh please!" Gray scoffed, repeatedly poking Natsu on the head. "Your dumb ass can barely pass the math exam without cheating off of Juvia's paper!"

"Says you!" Natsu growls back. "Juvia gave you her paper after you sighed once ! I wasn't gonna watch you cheat and get a better grade than me! No way in hell!"

"On the subject of cheating," Dr. Macao, a tall man with the heaviest eye bags Lucy has ever seen, walks in through the door of the classroom, pointing to the writing on the board as he makes his way to his desk. "Today we will attempt to make fire… again."

Lucy squinted her eyes in confusion. "But what does that have to do with cheating…" She mutters to herself, only to be rudely interrupted by the entire classroom's shushing. She leaned back in bewilderment as Levy's hand slapped over her mouth.

Nobody wanted to hear about Dr. Macaos failed experiences of love again. They'd spend the entire class period just listening to his whining alone!

Lucy slowly nodded her head, throwing her hands up in surrender. Levy sighed before sending her friend an apologetic smile.

"Please remember the safety regulations that you have been taught." Dr. Macao continues on. "I will not have another incident on my hands. Am I clear? " He says this while shooting a glare directly over at Natsu's table.

"Sure thing, teach." Gray lazily replies.

Dr. Macao slowly observed the two boys before deciding, "Somebody switch tables with Gray."

Gray clicks his teeth in annoyance but Macao could care less. He wasn't taking any chances this time. He didn't trust those two as far as he could throw them. And by god did he want to pick those two up and throw them far . Far enough to ensure they wouldn't cause him trouble ever again. The school was still recovering from last time…

Lucy's hand was up before anyone else could utter a word. She could faintly hear Natsu's victorious cackling over her own. This was her chance! She hasn't been able to catch a moment alone with Natsu since their first encounter this morning.

It was time to blow him away with her exceptional memorization and participation skills. She was everything to wish for in a chemistry partner! Smart, funny, blond, gorgeous-!

"Go for it, Heartfilia." Macao says before sitting at his desk and pulling out his phone. "Natsu, inform her of the safety equipment. Good luck."

As Lucy walks over to Natsu's table she discreetly wonders if school is always this laid back. Her tutors were much harsher on her than any teacher has been so far… But that's not important right now. She had to focus on blowing. Natsu's. mind.

Lucy drops her backpack on the floor, putting her goggles and gloves on in expert time before turning to her partner with a smug grin. As per usual he gave her no reaction, just a raised eyebrow and a completely uninterested face.

But alas, Lucy persisted!

"So," He starts. "the safety-"

"Worry not, Natsu Dragneel!" Lucy declares.

"I'm not worried…"

"I, Lucy Heartfilia , will make sure our chemistry experiment deems incredibly successful!" Lucy had practiced these words in her head in the mirror this morning. Her first words to Natsu were nothing short of impressive. No wonder he was left in a stunned silence.

Lucy continued to grin as Natsu slowly turned to their experiment, muttering an, "Okay…" under his breath.

"Step one, pour Kali on a solid surface." Lucy reads out loud. "That must be-"

"This one." Natsu reaches for the bottle as Lucy does, their fingers brushed and sends a rush up her arm.

"Uh- yes right." The girl has to take a moment to compose herself as Natsu pours the powder onto the surface. "Next, we-"

"Make a small gap and pour the glycerin in the middle. Light the tinder and write down the reaction, I know ." and he proceeds to do just that.

"You-!" The blond sputters. "You couldn't have known that! You must have read the instructions already." She resolves as Natsu dramatically rolls his eyes.

"Screw the instructions ." He pulls his own goggles over his eyes, sending her the most devious grin she has ever seen and reaching into his bag to pull out a strange bottle. "Don't ya wanna see a real fire?"

Lucy immediately knew that this was a horrible idea. If the way Macao spoke was anything to go off of, Natsu was incredibly destructive and untrustworthy when it came to these experiments.

"I don't… think that's such a good idea." She decided.

As much as she loved finally having his attention directed on her, the girl had to ensure her own safety before her lab partners… creativity.

"Awe C'mon!" He shook the liquid in the bottle a bit before opening the top and taking a whiff of the substance. "Don't you wanna see what happens?"

Was that gasoline? Why the hell did this 17 year old highschooler bring a bottle of pure gasoline to class? When did he find the time to plan this? Why?

"Put that away!" She hissed, startled by his sudden pyromaniac tendencies. Her eyes traveled to the teacher's desk, flicking back as she found his head tilted back against his chair and his mouth wide open. She grew less cautious as she heard a loud snore over the chatter of the classroom.

"Oh," The boy raised a taunting brow. "So Miss princess is bold enough to sneak out of her mansion but can't ditch a few lousy directions?"

"I-I could ditch these instructions if I really wanted to!"

HIs grin grew even more devious. "Then let's do it! I'll just pour a tiny drop-"

"Don't be stupid ." Lucy panicked, putting her hand between the gasoline and the fire. "We were given explicit instructions for our safety and it's only natural that we follow them. Who in their right mind is dumb enough to bring gasoline to class!?"

Natsu's entire demeanor seemed to shift as she finished scolding him. He slammed the bottle of gasoline on the table. "I'm not stupid."

"Could've fooled me!" The girl chose that moment to take off her sweaty goggles, fed up with this stupid and frankly dangerous experiment.

"Yeah well at least I'm not stuck up! "

Lucy flinched back, surprised by the complete shift in his attitude. "What's your problem?" she finally snaps, staring her lab partner directly in his eyes.

"I bet you're smart enough to figure that out." He snarkily replied, decidedly done with the experiment as well.

"What do you-"

"I don't think I need a whole month to figure you out." He clicked his teeth. "You're just like every other privileged jerk I've met." He leveled her with a look . In Lucy's short time knowing the boy this is the first time he's aimed such a glare at her. At anyone .

She didn't like that look on him. She didn't like that it was directed at her. She didn't like the way it made her throat clog up and her eyes water with tears. She didn't like the way her insides squeezed with guilt; she's never had to feel this way before!

"You- What do you know!" she defended. "Acting like you've got me all figured out." Lucy slammed her own hand on the desk, causing the chemical bottles to jump.

Natsu's eyes traveled to gasoline, the look replaced with a bubbling panic.

"You don't know what I went through to even get into this stupid school- you don't know me at all!" She continued, ignorant to the mess she was creating on the table. She could feel Levy's worried gaze on the back of her head but she simply did not care anymore.

She didn't know why she's been trying so hard to get this guy's attention. Why she couldn't stop thinking about him ever since they met. She didn't know why she craved his approval so much .

"And to think,'' She supposes she just wanted to…

"I did all of this to become your friend!" she admits, too heated to even process what she had just said. "I'm so stupid!"

Natsu seemed genuinely stunned as Lucy's hand flung in the wrong direction one last time.

"You- WATCH OUT!"

It was too late. She had knocked all of the kindles into the middle of their mix, which burst into enormous flames. In her confusion Lucy could barely pinpoint the moment Natsu shielded her with his own, unprotected arm. But it happened, and Lucy's shoulder was spared from a chemical burn in return.

He winced in pain as the flames quickly traveled up only to be put out by the quick acting sprinklers in the ceiling. Alarms set off throughout the school as the students groaned, some pulling out umbrellas (?) and heading out of the classroom.

With soaked hair and lopsided glasses, Macao gave the two stunned students a glare to rival her own fathers, pointing a firm finger towards the door. "Nurse, and then Principle. Do I make myself clear?"

With her own hair dripping down her face and clothes soaked beyond recognition, Lucy simply didn't have it in her to reply back.

She really messed up.